Three Hours Later;
Far from the city, Lin Fang and others were seen riding in an armored military-grade vehicle that rumbled like a beast through the rough terrain.
Li Chengfeng drove in silence, fully focused. Betty sat in the backseat on Li Xue's lap with her eyes constantly on Lin Fang, while the person in question simply stared outside.
The atmosphere in the vehicle was mostly silent for their entire journey. Lin Fang wanted to talk, but seeing the old man looking a bit too focused on driving and Li Xue had headphones over her, he could only shut his mouth.
After three hours of journey, the vehicle finally entered a ghost town, the buildings looked modern but destroyed as if the town had gone through a large-scale battle.
Driving through the streets, Li Chengfeng finally opened his mouth after a while, explaining briefly. "This Town of Danfeng was destroyed in a dungeon break a decade ago. It was such a tragedy. Overnight, tens of thousands were massacred. The corpses were cleared, the monsters were also killed, and the town remained a desolate ruin, but due to the remnant evil energy trapped in the surroundings, this had become a regular spot for dimensional dungeons. Every once in a while, a dimension dungeon pops up."
Lin Fang silently noted the information. However, he couldn't help but take out his smartphone to see if he could find any information on Baidu, but unfortunately, there was no network signal here. "No wonder the response from hunter guilds was poor and the loss was quite high."
The vehicle eventually stopped near an ancient ruin-like shrine.
"Get down," Li Chengfeng said as he stepped out.
Lin Fang followed him out, feeling the heavy wind, which almost instantly hit his face.
Soon, the trio stood at a crumbling archway of blackened stone, where a blue translucent portal floated slightly in the air. Its surface rippled faintly like a disturbed pond as they approached the portal.
It is the entrance to a dimensional dungeon.
There are typically three types of dungeons:
One, an instant dungeon that could just appear out of nowhere and trap people inside.
Two, a dimensional dungeon with a fixed portal that appears where remnant negative energy is gathered.
And three, a stellar rift, basically a portal that leads to a different planet ruled by monsters. Of the three, a dimensional dungeon is the safest as its portal is the most stable. It never breaks to release monsters like instant dungeons or disappears like the stellar rifts.
"Let's go in." Li Chengfeng said, stepping forward.
"Wait." Lin Fang tilted his head slightly. "I don't have a Hunter license. Isn't this illegal to enter a portal?"
Instead of answering, Li Xue pulled out her phone, flicked across her screen, and held it up. A digital lease with the Zero Guild's seal was shown on the screen.
Before he asked, she said. "Nothing to worry about that. Zero bought the hunting rights for the dungeon. It's the guild's responsibility who to let in or not."
"Alright then." Lin Fang exhaled.
The three of them stepped into the portal.
The world twisted around him as soon as he stepped inside. For Lin Fang, it was such a familiar feeling. The same thing he experienced when he entered the Spirit Valley.
And when Lin Fang's vision cleared, he found himself standing at the edge of a blackened cave, which was lit by molten veins of lava running through its walls.
*Ding!
[You entered a dimensional dungeon.]
[Grade 3 is detected]
"Grade 3?" As his eyes slightly fluttered at the info, suddenly, from the molten crevices, skeletal figures began to rise.
Lin Fang tensed at the sight of skeletons, which oddly looked human than monsters. All of them carry the same type of blades like soldiers from the past.
But Li Chengfeng simply crossed his arms. "Now, if you want to bring the power of Nemesis, you have to fight them. We won't lift a finger but will make sure you won't die. Go ahead."
"Wait, what?"
Before Lin Fang could argue anymore, Li Chengfeng tossed him a glowing purple crystal, not giving him any time to talk.
As Lin Fang caught it in reflex, a familiar chime rang in his head again.
*Ding!
[Mana Crystal detected.]
Absorb Mana?
[Yes] / [No]
Lin Fang accepted immediately, and the mana crystal instantly lost its color, and energy flew into his body. The crystal turned white.
*Ding!
[582 Mana Points worth reserves added to host]
[You have 60 minutes before the expiration]
Meanwhile, Li Chengfeng spoke calmly from behind. "Good. Even if you are a plainfolk, it seems you have a high aptitude to use mana crystals. But then again, as an innate soul, it is obvious."
As the undead began to swarm, Lin Fang gritted his teeth and tried to channel his mana.
However, nothing happened.
*Ding!
[The host's body is not suitable for manipulating mana. Please pick a weapon.]
"Eh?"
As Lin Fang froze at the surprising notification, the first skeleton had already initiated the combat, swinging its rusted blade at him.
Lin Fang barely dodged the skeleton's swing in reflex, its blade missing his chest by a hair. As he stumbled and fell to his butt, almost losing his footing while his heart pounded crazily, the Frost Veil Cat, Betty, waved its paw.
A gust of wind emerged from its paw and struck the skeleton. It was torn into bits.
"You alright?" Li Xue asked in a bit of worry.
Lin Fang looked at her and said. "I can't bring out mana."
Li Chengfeng's voice then came from behind him. "Even if you have an innate soul, you're still a 'Plainfolk,' Lin Fang. You can't just absorb mana and use it as your second nature, because you aren't born with it. Without a proper medium or some way to channel it, there's no way you can do it."
"I know that very well." Lin Fang grunted inwardly, taking a glance at the notification that says the same thing.
"Lin Fang, try to connect with the spirit. The dungeon is big, and this raid will last for a while. Take your time." Li Chengfeng said before pointing at his niece. "Until then, Li Xue will take care of your defense."
Lin Fang glanced at the girl and nodded.
Taking a deep breath, he shut his eyes and murmured. "I need a weapon."
He looked frantically around him on the floor instead of focusing on connecting with the spirit. His eyes caught the rusty sword that was left behind the destroyed skeleton.
"Perfect!" Lin Fang dashed over, sidestepping the next skeleton's attack, and yanked the sword from the ground.
The moment his fingers touched the hilt, the sword gave off a faint hum and vibrated in his hands. The system immediately reacted:
[Weapon Found: Broadsword]
Rarity: Common
Effect: 1) Increase your attacks by 10%. 2) Piercing stat increases by 25% when used with mana.
Lin Fang didn't wait to process the details. With the weapon now in hand, he swung it at the incoming skeleton as the sword was enveloped in mana.
The sword cleaved through the skeleton with ease. The remains of the undead creature collapsed into a heap, scattering across the floor.
Ding!
[You killed Skeleton Soldier. +1 coin]
[+1 Skeleton Soldier's spirit has been absorbed by Nemesis' will.]
*Ding!
[You triggered the hidden quest: Kill and Absorb 100,000 common-grade spirits. Reward: Guardian Spirit]
"Hmm? Nemesis Will? Guardian Spirit?"